Tag: wondermous

Day Eleven: Nasreddine By Odile Weulersse, Illus. Rébecca Dautremer Translated by Kathleen Merz Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 2013 Orig. Flammarion 2005 (Fr) “No matter what Nasreddine tries, it seems that someone always finds something to disapprove of. Nasreddine is a legendary character popular in stories told throughout the Middle East, and this clever story will bring…

Silence Once Begun by Jesse Ball Pantheon Books, 2014. 232 pages “The following work of fiction is partially based on fact.” Over the course of several months, eight people vanish from their homes in the same Japanese town, a single playing card found on each door. Known as the “Narito Disappearances,” the crime has authorities baffled—until a…

“Our glamorous lady detective, The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, swans into early 1929 Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger-sharp wit.” No need to imagine my delight with the second series return of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2013) if you’ve read my ravings about series one or have seen the Australian television…

Jane, the Fox & Me by Fanny Britt, and artist Isabelle Arsenault translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou Groundwood Books, 2013. orig. Jane, le renard & moi (Les Éditions de La Pastèque, 2012) Hélène has been inexplicably ostracized by the girls who were once her friends. Her school life is full of whispers and lies — Hélène…

Of note: my writing about an excellent short story collection equates to a long post. But I do give you a few paragraphs (up to the asterisks) before ~brief remarks on each of the stories. The Thing Around Your Neck : a collection of short stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Alfred A Knopf, 2009. Hardcover,…

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Simon & Schuster, 2013. Hardcover, 295 pages. for the older crowd. I told Sean that I’ve seen nothing but “Must Read” attached to Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project as I held up the bright red book. It appeared on a crazy number of “Best of” lists as 2013 was…

More Than This by Patrick Ness Candlewick Press, 2013. Hardcover 472 pages in 4 parts More Than This is hard to talk about without giving too much away. I can’t even ‘tag’ the post w/ a genre as it would prove too suggestive. So I will do my best to keep this spoiler-free because it…

It is 1920s Melbourne and the sophisticated Miss Phryne Fisher is fearless in the face of injustice as a lady detective and woman. The Australian television drama series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries was one of our favorite finds of 2013. Created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger and based on novels by Kerry Greenwood, its…

Day Thirty: Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey by Emily Winfield Martin Random House, 2013. Furred, finned, or feathered, your dream animal is waiting. Snuggle up. Open this book. And get ready to go to your dreams. (jacket copy) I own two of Emily Winfield Martin’s art prints (so far) from her TheBlackApple shop on Etsy,…

Day Twenty-Eight: The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers Philomel Books, 2008. * “There was a time in the forest… when everything was not as it should have been.” As branches began disappearing from their tree-homes, the local inhabitants began to suspect something amiss. After turning on one another and finding airtight alibis, they begin…

Day Nineteen: The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illus by Jon Klassen Little, Brown & Co. 2013. When you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.–Nietzsche “Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark is not afraid of Laszlo.”* Seriously, how chilling is that? And I didn’t even have to use the Vincent Price voice to excite goosebumps….